Electronic commerce (eCommerce) has become a ubiquitous tool for consumers and merchants to perform online transactions. Through the internet, eCommerce has leveled the playing field for merchants, large and small alike. A small business may, for example, effectively compete for global customers against a multi-channel retail business by setting up an eCommerce site integrating the features of a multi-channel retail business. Through eCommerce, a small merchant in a remote geographic location is no longer limited to a small pool of local consumers since physical access to a store front is no longer a requirement.
An eCommerce transaction typically transpires with a consumer browsing through the merchant's eCommerce site from the consumer's data terminal, such as a personal computer (PC), to select goods or services for online purchase. After the selections are made, the consumer may be required to login or register with the merchant's eCommerce site before the eCommerce transaction is allowed to complete. The registration process may require the consumer to enter the personal registration information, such as a name, address, telephone number, electronic mail (email) address, etc. before the consumer may be allowed to proceed to the next step in the eCommerce transaction, such as the checkout step. The consumer's registration information may be stored and maintained in a database on a server for use by the merchant.
Following the input of personal registration information, the consumer may be provided with a unique login identification (ID) and password that may be associated with the registration information. Upon subsequent visit to the eCommerce site, the consumer may login with the unique ID and password for authentication instead of going through the full re-registration process.
After the consumer has successfully logged in or registered, selected the goods or service and is ready to purchase, the consumer may be required to enter confidential financial information, such as a credit card number, the billing address, the shipping address, and any required verification data. Once the confidential financial information is confirmed by the merchant's eCommerce site, the consumer may be able to complete the eCommerce transaction.
However, concerns over online fraud, identity theft, individual privacy, or the like may lead some consumers to shun eCommerce transactions. For example, a consumer may find a product online at an attractive price but on an unfamiliar eCommerce merchant site. The barrier to an eCommerce transaction may be that the consumer may not have enough trust in the unfamiliar eCommerce merchant to provide the merchant with the personal registration or confidential financial information to complete the transaction. Since the merchant is an unfamiliar entity, the consumer also may not have the confidence that the personal registration and confidential financial information provided are adequately safeguarded against theft and/or misuse.
Current eCommerce systems and methods also suffer from other issues, which are also discussed later herein. The lack of willingness of certain segment of consumers to participate in eCommerce transactions due to the aforementioned reasons and others may lead to significant loss in sales opportunities for merchants.